5-1-2009 Fri

Start point: Hogback Ridge Shelter
End point: Spivey Gap campsite
miles hiked: 15.6

Woke up pretty early and was motivated to pack up so I could be ready to go. That turned out to be a good move because shortly after that it started raining, a couple folks that hadn't got packed up got some of their stuff wet.
Everyone had jokingly talked last night about getting to a spot right before Sam's Gap, all congregating and walking in together to suprise them with a bunch of hungry hikers. I kinda got out a little early because I wanted to take my time getting there, so everyone gave me grief about that, saying I wanted to get there first and eat all the burgers. ;)
Well we all arrived and they hadn't set up yet, they were hoping the rain would subside, but when they saw around 15-20 hikers coming they decided to go ahead and just set up a tarp and start cooking under that. We all ate till we were full and had a great time. I had an orange, and apple, chips, 2 hot-dogs, 2 hamburgers, 2 sodas and 2 oreo klondike bars. Oh my god, I had never even heard of an oreo klondike but those things are amazing! We headed out back on the trail and soon after it stopped raining and cleared up, which was perfect because we climbed Big Bald (5,516 elev.) and were able to get some amazing 360 degree views from the summit. That mtn and Max Patch have been some of my best views. Those bald mtn's are great because there are no trees to obstruct your views. Matt, Blues Traveler and I have been hiking together for the past couple days, we found a good spot to tent out tonight and are planning on making it to Erwin tomorrow.